1. Field of the Disclosure
The invention relates in general to packaging and dispensing equipment, and more particularly, to a connector assembly for a self sealing fitment. While not limited thereto, the connector assembly for a self sealing fitment is particularly well suited for use in association with flexible packaging of flowable material, including but not limited to bag in box packaging.
2. Background Art
This application incorporates by reference U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/100,271 filed May 3, 2011 which is a continuation in part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/589,368 filed Oct. 22, 2009, entitled “Self Sealing Bag in Box Cap Assembly,” which claims priority from U.S. Pat. App. Ser. No. 61/196,969, filed Oct. 22, 2008, entitled “Self Sealing Bag in Box Cap Assembly”, and, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 29/383,152 filed Jan. 13, 2011, entitled “Self Sealing Bag in Box Cap Assembly”.
Self sealing bags have become increasingly useful, especially in the food packaging industry. One current system utilizes a flexible bag having a spout to which a Sentry cap available from Scholle Corporation is affixed. A separate hose is provided which has at a first end a probe and at a second end a connector available from Erie Plastics with a flexible membrane. One such membrane is available from LMS of Midland, Mich. The probe is inserted into the opening of the Sentry cap and the other end is affixed to a distribution hose so that flowable material can be withdrawn from the flexible bag through the Sentry Cap and to the distribution hose. One such system is shown in FIG. 1 of the incorporated '271 application. Several different embodiments of such a cap are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 7,387,220 issued to Verespej et al and assigned to Scholle Corporation and U.S. Pat. No. 7,357,277 issued to Verespej et al and assigned to Scholle Corporation. Both of these patents are incorporated by reference herein, in their entirety.
Among other drawbacks, such a system requires many separate components which increase the cost of use of such a system. Additionally, with such a system, many connections are utilized, each of which is susceptible to failure. Further still, such sealing membranes are prone to damage during the insertion of the probe therein, and there are drawbacks associated with the membrane configurations themselves.
Further still, there have been drawbacks with the different connectors that can be utilized in association with such sealing membranes. Among other drawbacks, the use of the same connector for a number of different packages can lead to inadvertent coupling of a bag to a wrong connector. In addition, some of the connectors allow for relative movement of the sealing membrane and the connector such that the integrity of the seal is challenged.